Micheál Martin

I thank the Deputy. We are on the one page in respect of that. I will talk to the Minister about that and ask him to talk to the Deputy. In response to Deputy Whitmore's question, I am working with the Minister of State, Deputy Christopher O'Sullivan. The plan has been recently concluded, chaired by Dr. Aoibhinn Ní Shúilleabháin. It is a fine, comprehensive plan that lays out a roadmap to preserv…

I propose to take Questions Nos. 17 to 33, inclusive, together. The Cabinet committee on disability has been established to oversee the implementation of programme for Government commitments in the area of disability, with specific focus on children's disability services, as well as disability more generally under the Government' s new national human rights strategy for disabled people for 2025 t…

By who?

I thank all the Deputies for raising these very important questions here. On Deputy Martin Daly’s question, I have also met the group, Before We Die, in relation to vulnerable adult children and the fear and anxiety of parents in terms of providing for them if they were to pass from this world. The Minister for housing has met the Minister of State for disability. The Minister for housing is inst…

That is the point. That is what invariably happens with industrial relations so that may be the factor here. I accept Deputy Paul Murphy's general point. The incidence of autism seems to have grown dramatically. Although some say it is better diagnosed, I am not so sure any more. The numbers are significant in terms of expansion of services in health, but particularly in education. Even this year…

They have not heard anything. I will follow up because it is now June. If people want to get enrolled by September something has to happen. I will raise it with the Minister of State, Michael Moynihan and the Minister, Hildegarde Naughton. Deputy O'Rourke said the meeting to consider the drug for Duchenne is tomorrow. I hope we will get a positive outcome from that and can make progress. There ha…

Ar dtús báire, ní aontaím leis an Teachta. Tá an-chuid déanta againn. Gan amhras, tá i bhfad níos mó le déanamh againn maidir le daoine le míchumas. Tagraím don infheistíocht atá curtha isteach againn, go háirithe sa cháinaisnéis anuraidh. Ba é an méadú is mó riamh in aon cháinaisnéis. The investment in disability has been very strong. The last budget saw one of the largest ever increases in disa…

We will have places for children next September. As Deputy McDonald knows, with the decision of the early entry portal, many more applied than was anticipated and 6,000 children who are within existing mainstream schools applied for special class status, which will be provided for and very substantial additional resources have been allocated to meet that need.

No one can deny the extraordinary and very significant investment that has been made - rightly so - in special education.

It is quite significant.

The Deputy has an awful habit of interrupting. I have never interrupted her once in anything she says.

I beg your pardon?

Okay, we will leave it. We will leave it.

I recognise the issues facing people with disabilities. The first thing I did in government was to set up a special disability unit within my Department to prioritise and drive delivery of services and to improve them in every single Government Department and in a whole-of-government approach. We have established a Cabinet subcommittee on disability to deal with all aspects of public services and …

We will have 26,000 special needs assistants by the beginning of the next school year. There will be 26,000 of them and I could go on.

We need to do more and we will do more, as we have with the school therapy services.

It is not delayed.

That is great.

I reject very strongly the Deputy's assertion that we are not taking climate seriously. Her reference to the Green Party not being in government is false.

We are doing things differently because there is a problem, which the Deputy referenced in terms of the Critical Infrastructure Bill. One of the issues is the fundamentalist, purist and perfect is always the enemy of the good. We will achieve far more on climate than perhaps the Labour Party approach or, at times, the Green Party approach because we need to bring people with us. That consensus has…

It has been. The Deputy needs to face up to it and not be naive. At every turn, significant infrastructure and even infrastructure that will improve the climate has faced challenges because environmental considerations have been weaponised. That is a problem and a challenge. It is a problem all over Europe, by the way. It is all over Europe. That is why some of the renewable energy directives, RED…

We need an honest debate. Let us deal with the facts. Ireland now has the lowest level of greenhouse gas emissions in 35 years.

No. Hold on. Look at what else has happened in the 35 years. That is in the context of an increase in population of 1.5 million, more than 1 million new homes and over 1 million more vehicles on the road. Those are dramatic statistics. We are growing as a population. We were relatively under-populated historically but our population is now growing dramatically. With 1.5 million more people, 1 mill…

-----and we have offshore wind proposals in planning.

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. I have made inquiries. The issue he raised did happen. It is unacceptable from my perspective, particularly given the enormity of the issue for the individual householder concerned, that she should have received two emails with completely opposite positions on the one day. My understanding is that the chair of the board accepts that an error was made and …